Rooney is not a midfield man

onOctober 12, 2012

Why is Wayne Rooney labeling himself as a midfielder? It’s been widely publicized that the Manchester United striker has no qualms with playing in a deeper role now with Robin Van Persie asserting himself as a goal scoring machine for the club. I can’t understand why this is the case though? England coach, Roy Hodgson is already considering Wayne Rooney as Frank Lampard’s replacement for the game against San Marino.

The problem I have with Wayne Rooney playing in midfield is not that he would do a bad job; it’s that he’s a much better striker. This new midfield position is brought along by the player’s hard work rate. Playing in midfield in United’s 3-0 win over Newcastle, Wayne Rooney was impressive but let’s not take his contribution as a striker for granted.

The United striker is just 26 but everyone, including himself, is acting like his career is coming to a close and that he now needs to take a more senior role for both club and country. Really? I think it’s a tad too soon for Wayne Rooney to be shifting into a midfield role. Although his goal rate has been considerably lower for country than club, there’s still no recognized striker that I can think of who is head and shoulders above Wayne Rooney for England.

What Way Rooney needs to do is go out and fight to play as a striker. There’s no doubt that a lot of pressure has been added to him playing as a striker, especially for the national team. When England does badly, Wayne Rooney takes the brunt of the criticism but there’s no denying that the player has everything needed to go out and be a game changer but I see him being less effective in midfield.